PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - A tense confrontation during a baseball game in Parkland brought together the father of one of the victims in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the man who was the security monitor on the day of the massacre.
According to court documents, Andrew Pollack approached Andrew Medina as the latter was coaching a travel baseball team at Pine Trails Park, located about a mile from the school, at around 9 p.m., Wednesday.
The documents, filed by Medina’s attorney as part of a protective order he issued in behalf of his client, state that Pollack, who lost his daughter Meadow Pollack in the shooting, confronted Medina, prompting someone to call police.
Speaking with 7News over the phone, Thursday night, Pollack explained his actions.
“I couldn’t believe that parents would let that guy mentor their children on a field, so I just wanted to see with my own eyes,” he said.
The documents state, “The witnesses each reported that Mr. Pollack screamed to Mr. Medina, ‘Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? I’m not through with you yet!'”
According to the documents, the responding officer wrote that Pollack’s comment was made in a “very threatening tone.”
The documents go on to say, “Mr. Pollack screamed out, ‘How can you have this piece of (expletive) out here?’ The comment was made to the general public and was clearly intended to be menacing.”
But Pollack said he did not intend to make threats.
“I asked the coach calmly — I never raised my voice to anybody,” he said, “and I just said … ‘Do you know who you’re letting coach these kids on this field?'”
Speaking with 7News on the phone, a fellow coach said he watched Pollack confront Medina.
“He spoke very calmly and very firmly at the same time. I was extremely uncomfortable with the situation,” he said. “My heart was racing quite a bit.”
Pollack’s attorney, David Brill, indicated his client meant no physical harm toward Medina.
“What he meant by that is what Mr. Pollack has meant in the near year since his daughter was murdered, which is that he’s promising accountability and justice,” said Brill during a phone interview.
Brill said his client believes Medina deserves to face justice because the former security monitor did not issue a Code Read after, Medina told investigators, he saw shooter Nikolas Cruz enter Building 12 on the MSD campus.
Speaking to detectives hours after the shooting, Medina described the moment he spotted and recognized the gunman.
“I’m telling you, I knew who the kid was because we had a meeting last year, and we said if there’s gonna be anybody who’s gonna come to this school and shoot this school up, it’s gonna be that kid,” he said.
Medina told detectives he heard gunfire moments after he saw Cruz enter the building.
“He ran in, and not even a minute after he was in, we heard — I heard the first bang, like, ‘pow,'” he said. “I’m like, Uh-oh, right? Like what?’ So I got back in the golf cart, and I’m starting to turn. I’m getting out. I’m getting out, and then I hear ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.'”
Parkland parent Ryan Petty echoed Pollack’s calls for accountability.
“Here’s a person that had an opportunity to stop the shooter as he walked onto campus and failed to act that day,” he said.
Pollack is suing Medina, who was placed on a three-day suspension back in 2017 after female students complained he sexually harassed them.
Medina issued a comment through his attorney that read, “In as much as I am aware of all the grieving and emotions that are currently exhibited in the Parkland and Coral Springs communities, I myself feel the same emotions.”
Medina said he was afraid to go home after the game Wednesday night.
“It’s been very difficult, as you can imagine, for someone to go through the past year that he had,” said the coach who witnessed the confrontation. “All the parents on my team support him 100 percent.”
The fellow coach said the team Medina coaches will be leaving Parkland, and he is currently making those arrangements.
Medina is no longer employed at the school. A hearing for his protective order has been scheduled for next Wednesday, the day before the one-year anniversary of the massacre.
Pollack has been one of the more active Parkland parents. He has set himself apart in some ways, including emphasizing school safety rather than focusing on gun control.
Before he ended his term, Florida Gov. Rick Scott appointed Pollack on the state’s board of education, but that appointment was rescinded by incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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